Interlocking door structures for mine cars and like purposes



A g- 1939- c. A. GRIFFITH INTER LOCKING DOOR STRUCTURE FOR MINE CARS AND LIKE PURPOSES Filed June 20, 1936 Patented Aug". 29, 1Q39 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INTERLOCKING DOOR STRUCTURES FOR MINE CARS AND LIKE. PURPOSES Application June 20,

14 Claims.

The present invention relates to interlocking door structures in which an opening is to be closed by a plurality of doors having interlocking parts so that the release and opening of one door will establish a releasing of another door.

Such structures are particularly advantageous in mine cars, where automatic dumping is effected through the bottom of the car.

One of the features of the present invention is the provision of an interlocking member adjacent the pivotal edge of one door, which comprises a. hook fixed rigidly to the door and moving therewith, in association with the marginal edge of an aperture provided adjacent the free edge of another door.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of engaging means on one door comprising a part for entering an aperture adjacent the free edge of another door, said engaging means moving with the associated door for latching engagement with a surface provided adjacent the interengaging means of two doors in latching position.

edge of a door.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a door, adjacent the free edge thereof. In the drawing, the illustrated mine car com prises side sills I0, upper sidewalls II, end walls I2 and end constructions shown conventionally at I3. This mine car is illustrated as havinga front axle I4 and a. rear axle Ma; these axles the track T.

The illustrative car has three doors for closing the bottom opening thereof, these doors comprising the front door F, the middle door M and the rear, door R. The front and rear doors F and R close this opening between an axle and the adjacent end wall: while the middle door serves to close the opening between the two axles: although it will be understood that other arrange- Fig. 3 is a perspective view indicating the connection and association of parts at the pivotal r being provided with the wheels W which run on 1936, Serial No. 86,432

ments are feasible in which a plurality of doors are employed for closing the bottom opening.

The front door F is mounted adjacent its front edge by structures I6 located adjacent the front end wall I2. This front door is provided adjacent its rear or free edge with an aperture I! and has a reinforcing member I8 secured thereto and stiffening the door adjacent the aperture.

The middle door M has its forward edge bent to a curvature corresponding to the shape of the 10 axle I4 in this illustrative form, so that the door may be mounted on this axle as a pivotal support for its front or pivotal edge. This pivotal edge of the middle door M also has a hook l9 rigidly secured thereto for entering the aperture I! of 15 the front door F for latching this front door F. At the rear or free edge of the middle door M, it likewise has an aperture I! and a stiffening member I8 surrounding this aperture.

The rear door R has its front or pivotal edge rebent for engagement on the axle I la as a pivotal support therefor, and it also has a hook I9 for engagement in the aperture ll of the middle door M. At the rear edge of the rear door R, it is provided with a projecting latch pin which 25 is rigidly secured thereto, and which in the closed position of the door R is engaged by a latch hook L which is conventionally shown in Fig.

1' as of the usual type.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the pivotal edge assemblies for the middle door M and rear door R are essentially the same in this illustrative form. The plate metal 30 forming the body of the respective door and upon which the lading rests has the rebent portion 3I fitting over the corresponding axle I4, Ma. A filler block 32, usually a casting, conforms also to the shape of the axle I4, Ma for preventing disengaging. movement of the door. The hook I9 has the connection pieces I9a formed integral therewith and secured by rivets 33 which pass through apertures in these pad pieces, in the rebent portion 3| of the door, in the fill-er 32 and in the normally uppermost portion 30 of the door. Thus a rigid assembly of these parts is effected.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the illustrated plate metal 30 of a door has the aperture I'I therein, adjacent the rearward or free edge 30a.

It will be noted (Fig. 2) that this free edge 30a of a forward door extends rearwardly past I the pivotal axis of the next rearward door, so that the doors overlap when in closed position. The reinforcing member I8 may be formed as a patch having an aperture aligned with the aperture I1, and having a latching tongue [8a. which is bent upwardly into the aperture I! of the door plate 30 and preferably extends above the uppermost surface of this door plate 30 (Figs. 2 and 4). This reinforcing member [8 is then securely welded to the lower surface of the door plate 30. The patch is usually of greater thickness and strength than the plate metal 30 of the door, in order to resist the greater wear and tear upon it and thus to protect the door from damage.

It will be noted in Fig. 2 that the hook l9 engages the lower surface of the latching tongue 58a, and hence the structures adjacent this point should be very stiff and rigid. For this purpose, the groove formed by a wall of the aperture l1 and by the upper surface of the latching tongue la, is filled with welded-in material 18b so that the latching tongue l8a is stiffened and joined fixedly to the material of the door plate 30.

In service, the doors F, M, R, are closed. The door It is held by the latch L. The hook IQ of door R engages in the aperture H and with the latching tongue 18a of the door M for holding this door M in closed position. In turn, the hook E9 of door M engages in the aperture l7 and with the tongue 58a of the door F for holding this door in closed position. It will be observed by reference to Figure 1 of the drawing that when each door is closed the generally planar body thereof lies in a generally horizontal position, and that the aperture I1 extends vertically therethrough or in a direction normal to the general plane of the closed door. The car is now filled with the material to be handled, and is moved along the track T toward a suitable discharge point. Such a discharge point for automatic dumping and reclosing of the doors may include a bin having a wall 56. The tracks T extend across the bin, and the latch L is released as the car comes to the bin, so that the door R ispermitted to fall downward in swinging motion about the pivotal axis at its front edge, wherewith the hook 59 thereof is withdrawn from the latching tongue i811 so that the middle door M is released in turn, and this movement of the middle door M withdraws its hook l9 from the latching tongue 58a of the front door F and releases the front door. Thus, all doors swing downward, gravitationally, about the axes at their front edges and the lading is discharged intothe bin. During the continued movement of the car (toward the right in Fig. 1) along the track T, the front door F ultimately encounters a ramp rail structure RR which causes the front door F to move upward into the position shown in, Fig. 1. The middle door M then in turn encounters this ramp rail RR. and it likewise is rocked in a clockwise direc tion toward its closed position. The ramp rail RR maintains the front door F substantially in the position for the proper engagement of the V hook I9 of door M with the latching tongue Ida of door F; and hence when the door M attains the position illustrated for door F in Fig. 1, a relatching of door F is accomplished, by the engagement of the parts in the manner shown in Fig. 2. Similarly, the door R, upon encountering the ramp rail RR is moved in a clockwise direction until it attains a position corresponding to e ing to the sizes and weights of the other parts of the car construction and the lading to be held; and that any number of such latch hooks IS, with the corresponding number of apertures I! and latching tongues lBa may be provided along the width of the doors.

It is obvious that the invention may be employed for many other purposes and in many other manners without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bottom-dumping vehicle comprising means providing walls for a lading body having a bottom opening, a plurality of generally planar doors for closing said opening and arranged to assume a generally horizontal position when closed, transverse door pivot means adjacent the front edge of each said door, a hook on a rearward door located below the door pivot means when the door is closed, the next forward door having an aperture passing vertically therethrough or normally with respect to the general plane of the door and located between the pivot and the free rear edge thereof and adjacent said rear edge, said hook entering said aperture and engaging the said forward door for supporting the same when the rearward door is closed, and latching means for said rearward door.

2. A bottom-dumping vehicle comprising means providing walls for a lading body having a bottom opening, a plurality of doors for closing said opening, transverse pivot means extending into the opening space, a rearward door having a curled front edge extending partly around the corresponding pivot means, in concentric relation thereto a filler block, a hook structure, means passing through the hook structure, the edge of the door and the filler block for securing the parts rigidly together, the next forward door having means adjacent its rear edge for receiving and engaging the hook structure so that such forward door may be latched closed when the rearward door is closed, and latching means for said rearward door.

3. A door structure comprising supporting means adjacent an opening to be closed, a plurality of doors for closing said opening, a first said door having pivot means adjacent one edge thereof for engaging said supporting means, a second said door comprising a generally flat body and having a free edge overlapping said one edge of the first door and pivot means adjacent the opposite edge thereof for engaging said supporting means, said second door having an aperture formed directly in thebody thereof adjacent its free edge, a hook secured to said first door and effective for entering said aperture for latching said second door closed, and latching means for said first door. I

4. A bottom-dumping structure comprising Walls providing a body having a bottom opening, a plurality of doors for closing said opening, said doors having pivot means, a free edge of one door being adjacent a hinge edge of another door, said one door having an aperture formed directly in the plane of the door adjacent its. free edge, a reinforcing patch attached to said one door at said aperture and having a tongue extending into the aperture, and a hook secured to said second door and swingable through said aperture for locking engagement with said tongue.

5. A bottom-dumping structure comprising walls providing a body having a bottom opening,

a plurality of doors for closing said opening, one

of said doors having a pivotal mounting relative to the walls at an edge adjacent another said door, the said other door having a pivotal mounting relative to the walls adjacent the edge remote from said one door, said pivotal mountings permitting the doors to swing about substantially parallel axes for opening; the said other door having its free edge of plate metal with an aperture adjacent the free edge, and a metal patch located at the lower surface of said other door and secured to said plate metal and including a tongue extending upward into the aperture; said one door having latching means associated therewith and controlled by the said one door during its swinging movement for engaging the said tongue and for releasing the same; and means for latching said one door in closed position.

6. A door for a bottom-dumping structure comprising a plate metal structure for supporting lading and having pivotal mounting means adjacent one edge, said plate metal structure having an aperture adjacent its free edge, a metal patch member having an aperture and connected rigidly to the plate metal structures with the apertures aligned, and a tongue on the patch member extending upward into the aperture of the plate metal structure.

7. A door as in claim 6, in which the patch member is secured to the plate metal structure by welding and the tongue has parts spaced from the adjacent wall of the aperture in the plate metal structure, and welding material filling the space and securing the tongue and plate metal structure rigidly together and bracing said tongue.

8. In a lading conveying vehicle including supporting means and a lading discharge opening, a door for said opening pivotally secured at one edge to said supporting means and comprising a generally flat body having a latching aperture formed directly in the body adjacent a free edge thereof, and a latching hook pivotally supported adjacent said free door edge in position for swinging into or ut of said aperture for latching or releasing said door, said door including a rigidly mounted latching tongue adapted to cooperate with the hook in latching of the door and extending angularly in said aperture for engagement by said hook.

9. In a lading conveying vehicle including supporting means and a lading discharge opening, a door for said opening pivotally secured at one edge to said supporting means and comprising a generally flat body having a latching aperture formed directly in the body adjacent a free edge thereof, a latching hook pivotally supported adjacent said free door edge in position for swinging into or out of said aperture for latching or releasing said door, said door including a rigidly mounted latching tongue adapted to cooperate with the hook in latching of the door and bent to lie angularly in said aperture for engagement by said hook, and means to reinforce and impart increased rigidity to said tongue.

10. In a lading conveying vehicle including supporting means and a bottom opening, a pair of pivotally mounted doors for closing said opening and disposed relatively so that the free edge body portion of one door underlies the pivoted edge of the other door, said one door having a latching aperture formed directly in the body portion thereof underlying said other door pivot, a latch hook movable with the pivoted edge of said other door and swingable into or out of said aperture for latching or releasing said door, and means for latching said other door.

11. In a lading conveying vehicle including supporting means and a bottom opening, a pair of pivotally mounted doors for closing said opening and disposed relatively so that the free edge body portion of one door underlies the pivoted edge of the other door, said one door having a latching aperture formed directly in the body portion thereof underlying said other door pivot, a latching tongue rigidly secured to said one door and extending angularly-upwardly in said aperture, a latch hook movable with the pivoted edge of said other door and swingable into or out of engagement with said tongue in said aperture, and means for latching said other door.

12. In a lading conveying vehicle including supporting means and a bottom opening, a pair of pivotally mounted doors for closing said opening and disposed relatively so that the free edge body portion of one door underlies the pivoted edge of the other door, said one door having a latching aperture formed directly in the body portion thereof underlying said other door pivot, a latching tongue rigidly secured to said one door and extending angularly-upwardly in said aperture, means for reinforcing and imparting increased rigidity to said tongue, a latch hook movable with the pivoted edge of said other door and swingable into or out of engagement with said tongue in said aperture, and means for latching said other door.

13. In a lading conveying vehicle including supporting means and a bottom opening, a pair of doors for closing said opening, a pivotal mounting for each door, said doors being disposed relatively so that the free edge portion of one door underlies the pivoted edge of the other door, the pivotal mounting for said other door comprising an axle and said pivoted other door edge being snugly bent about said axle, said one door having a latching aperture formed directly in the body portion thereof underlying said axle, a latch hook projecting a distance from and movable with the bent portion of the door edge and swingable into or out of said aperture for latching or releasing said underlying door edge and permitting a degree of movement of said edge toward said axle without disengagement of said hook, and means for latching the other door.

14. In a lading conveying vehicle including supporting means and a bottom opening, a pair of doors for closing said opening disposed forwardly and rearwardly with respect to each other and pivotally mounted at their forward edges, the forward door comprising a generally fiat body having a latching aperture formed directly in the body in the general plane thereof adjacent the rear edge, a latch hook movable with the pivoted edge of the rear door and swingable into or out of said aperture for latching or releasing said forward door, and means for latching said rear door.

DONALD EARL GRIFFITH, Executor and Trustee of the Estate of Charles A. Griflith, Deceased. 

